Time for Terrific Tomatoes!

There’s nothing better on a hot summer day than a ripe, juicy tomato, picked fresh from my own garden. And since things are finally heating up outside, it’s time to get 'em growin'. I use one of two ways to plant my tomatoes:

 

1.   The holey moley method. Simply dig a hole about the size of a soccer ball, and put a layer of compost or well-rotted manure mixed with a handful of bonemeal and 1 teaspoon of Epsom salts in the bottom. Then set the plant in so that only about the top 4 inches stick up above the soil. (Clip off the lower leaves with scissors first.)

2.   Trench method. Make a 6-inch-deep trench the length of the planting bed. Spread a thin layer of compost along the bottom, then trim off the leaves from all but the top 4 inches of the stem. Lay each plant in the trench horizontally, with the 4-inch leafy part curved up out of the ground. Pack soil around it so it stays in place, and then cover up the rest of the stem with soil.

And if you want to get the most mouthwatering tomato crop on the block, treat your plants to my Tomato Booster Tonic. To whip up a batch:

Mix 2 tablespoons of Epsom salts, 1 teaspoon of baby shampoo, and 1 gallon of water in a watering can. Generously soak the soil around your tomato plants in early summer, just as they show a bunch of yellow flowers, to stimulate fruit set.

Discover more super secrets for growing big, juicy tomatoes and other incredible edibles, in my The New Impatient Gardener book. Try the terrific tips FREE for 21 days!

 

Perennials Are Poppin' Up...So Are Weeds!

Early spring perennials are sure putting on a gorgeous show! But if you’ve got weeds—ugh!  Don’t let weeding woes take all the fun out of your flower gardening. Just follow my simple suggestions for keeping these pesky plants to a minimum, and you’ll have a great-looking perennial garden with a minimum of muss and fuss. Here’s how:

·   As soon as you see a weed, pull it. If you wait, it’s just going to get bigger, and in the meantime, it’s stealing water and nutrients that your perennials and bulbs could be using to give you more beautiful blooms.

·   Always use special care when cultivating, to avoid damaging bulbs or the roots of your bloomin’ beauties. If you’re using a hoe, make short, shallow, scraping motions instead of chopping deep down into the soil.

·   You’ll never need to use weed killers in your flower gardens as long as you put an adequate amount of mulch down to cover the soil. Grass clippings, chopped leaves, shredded bark, and pine needles all fill the bill. You’ll just need to pull the occasional weed.

·   When you’re cleaning out your flowerbeds, make sure you pull out all the weeds you can see (including the roots) before adding a fresh layer of mulch.

·   If you need to get rid of tough-as-nails weeds growing through cracks in patios and garden walkways, pour some salt on them. In a day or two, the weeds will curl up and die from dehydration, and you can easily pull them out.

For hundreds of handy hints for weedin’, feedin’, and waterin’ the right way,
check out my Perfect Perennials! book FREE for 21 days!

 

Get Your Outdoor Space in Tip-Top Shape

The temps are finally warming up outside, so I’m getting ready to take the covers off my outdoor furniture, unfurl my patio umbrella, inspect my deck for any loose nails or splintered wood, and spruce it all up so my outdoor dining area is ready for action when I fire up the grill. Here’s how I get the job done the right way:

To clean plastic or resin patio furniture, try…

·        washing the plastic with a mixture of 3 tablespoons of dishwasher detergent in 1 gallon of hot water. Let the solution sit for about 15 minutes, and then rinse it thoroughly. Be sure to wear long rubber gloves to protect your skin.

·       scrubbing the pieces with a mixture of 3 tablespoons of powdered oxygenated bleach (like OxiClean® Versatile Stain Remover) in 1 gallon of warm water. Use a nonabrasive plastic scrubbie and plenty of elbow grease.

·       restoring the shine by wiping the surface with a cloth that’s been sprayed with WD-40®. Buff off the solvent with a clean, dry cloth.

While your furniture is drying in the sunshine, here’s how to swab your deck to get it looking ship-shape:

To avoid a patchy look, you need to clean the entire deck. So don’t bother spot cleaning the surface. Try a household floor cleaner like Spic and Span®, or mix 1 cup of bleach into a gallon of warm water. Make this potion outside, so you don’t breathe in the fumes from the bleach, and wear rubber gloves, goggles, a long-sleeved shirt, and old pants to guard against splashes. Then cover all surrounding vegetation, buildings, and materials with plastic, so they don’t get damaged by any overspray. Scrub the deck just as you would your kitchen floor—but use a stiff push broom instead of a mop. Rinse the deck thoroughly after you scrub it, and you’re done.

Looking for more smart tips, fast tricks, and DIY solutions that’ll leave your outdoor living areas looking bright and feeling sparkling clean? Check out my Speed Cleaning Secrets! book—FREE for 21 days! It’s filled with thousands of dirt-defying secrets.

 

 

It's Arbor Day...Plant One for the Birds!

On a nice, sunny spring day, there’s nothing better than strolling around the yard, listening to the sound of birds singing their sweet songs. So, to celebrate Arbor Day this year, why not plant a tree or two with your backyard buddies in mind? Birds will sing your praises from the lofty branches that provide them shelter from bad weather, safety from predators, and fabulous feasts of insects, fruit, berries, and seeds.  Here’s a few varieties that’ll help keep your feathered friends snuggled safe and well fed:

Marvelous Maples.  Maple trees are among the quickest-growing and most beautiful trees you can plant in your yard.  Plus, birds love ‘em! Baltimore orioles, chickadees, nuthatches, and others will find plenty of caterpillars and other bugs among the leaves and flowers. Cardinals, grosbeaks, and purple finches eat the seeds, and nuthatches nest in the cavities.

Beautiful Birches.  Birches are truly a four-season bird tree.  By mid-spring, they’re already covered with bright new leaves where hungry migrating warblers can search for caterpillars.  During the summer, birch seeds are sure to draw flocks of goldfinches and other seed-eaters. Tanagers, vireos, and more warblers will stop off to eat insects during fall migration, and during winter, juncos will clean up any fallen birch seeds.

Ever-Lovin’ Greenery.  Winter, spring, summer, and fall, evergreen trees and shrubs do it all.  Whether it’s protecting birds from bad weather and hungry predators, providing great nesting sites, or offering up a super-duper supply of food, evergreens can’t be beat!

 

For more fast, fun, and easy ways to grow plants and trees birds love, check out my Backyard Birdscaping Bonanza book. You’ll discover simple secrets to boosting your garden’s bird appealability, while turning it into a lively bird sanctuary. And best of all, you can try it FREE for 21 days!

 

Make Every Day Earth Day

Earth Day is just around the corner, and even though we only celebrate our planet once a year, it’s important to think green every day. I’m guessing your home is filled with stuff you’d normally throw away or toss in the recycling bin. Well, it’s time to change that way of thinking, and take a fresh look at your cast-offs to see how they could be reinvented in useful ways around your home.

 

For example, many first aid and health supplies come equipped with packaging that’s every bit as useful as the product itself (though in different ways, of course). Here are some ways to turn potential trash into treasure:

·   Boxes from bandages and gauze. Save these boxes until Christmas rolls around, then wrap them like tiny presents and hang them from the tree. You’ll have one-of-a-kind ornaments for free!

·   Cardboard rolls from gauze. Dismantle the nests of rubber bands in your junk drawer, and snap them around the reel.

·   Plastic and metal boxes from throat lozenges. Use them to corral all kinds of tiny odds and ends, like buttons, nails, needles, paperclips, stamps…the list goes on and on.

·   Reels from adhesive tape. Or any other kind of tape, for that matter. Wrap aluminum foil around them, attach a string, and hang them in your fruit trees and berry bushes to discourage fruit-eating birds.

·   Any of the above. Turn it into dollhouse furniture. Just cover the box, reel, or roll with fabric or decorative paper, and presto! Depending on the size and shape of the object, you’ve got a bed, coffee table, dining table—or whatever your little interior designer desires.

 

Another easy way to stay green is to reuse things you would normally toss into the recycling bin by turning them into handy garden helpers. My Supermarket Super Gardens book is chock-full of ideas for recycling potential trash into terrific treasures ranging from bug traps to bird feeders. Check it out FREE for 21 days!

 

Give Bulbs a Beneficial Boost

Now that the long cold winter seems to be headin’ for the hills, you can find me out in the yard on milder days, hunting for the earliest spring blooms. And I know just where to search: those warm spots on the south side of my house, snugged up against the foundation wall. These southern-facing spots are the first to thaw out, so the bulbs I plant there always bloom a few weeks earlier than they do in other parts of my yard.

So now’s the perfect time to mix up a batch of my Out-to-Lunch Mix and give my bulb beds a beneficial boost. For every 100 square feet of soil, here's how:

Mix 10 pounds of compost, 5 pounds of bonemeal, and 1 pound of Epsom salts in a bucket, stirring them together with a shovel. Top-dress established bulb beds with the mixture in the next few weeks, after you start seeing foliage emerging from the ground. And for an extra treat, you can add up to 5 pounds of wood ashes (from your fireplace) to the mix.

Need more do-it-yourself potions to keep you growing all year long? Check out my Terrific Garden Tonics book—FREE for 21 days! It’s jam-packed with my world-famous mixes and fixes that’ll have you growing like a pro in no time at all.

 

 

 

The Grass-Growin' Season is Under Way!

It was Opening Day this week for your favorite Major League baseball team—so how’s the turf at your home field looking? Take some time between innings this weekend to get out there and give your yard a good old-fashioned spring-cleaning. Here’s the top-of-the-list tasks that make the starting line-up:

ü Rake up the remains of last fall’s leaves and grass clippings. The young blades of grass need as much light as possible to grow strong.

ü Overseed to repair any damaged areas of the lawn. Make your lawn-repair job a home run with my sensational Spot Seed Tonic:

 

Combine 1 cup of beer, 1 cup of baby shampoo, and 4 tablespoons of instant tea granules in a 20 Gallon Hose-End Sprayer, and lightly apply the mixture to the mulch covering your newly seeded areas.

 

ü Get your key player in tip-top shape—sharpen your mower blade, or replace it with a new one, so you’ll be all set for the first cut of the season.

ü Remove thatch from cool-season lawns. Then spread screened compost over the dethatched turf, followed by a dose of my Kick-in-the-Grass Tonic:

 

Mix 1 can of beer, 1 cup of antiseptic mouthwash, 1 cup of dishwashing liquid, 1 cup of ammonia, and ½ cup of Epsom salts in a large bucket and pour the solution into a 20 Gallon Hose-End Sprayer. Apply the tonic to your lawn-repair site to the point of run-off, wait two weeks, then administer another dose.

For more super solutions to maintain the lushest lawn in the league, check out my Terrific Garden Tonics! book—FREE for 21 days!